Domesticated
by spooksfan08
Summary: Set after The Christmas Invasion. Will everything be ok? Can Rose and the Doctor carry on? Will Mickey ever understand?


**Disclaimer I do not own Doctor Who. All copyright belongs to the original writers, Russel T Davies and BBC Wales. No copyright infringement is intended nor should be inferred.**

**Domestic?**

He stood in front of the mirror, glad that he had found the battered Converse shoes in the back of the wardrobe. It seemed that this time he'd be running around a lot more than he had been in previous regenerations. Sighing heavily he thought about his time with the Sycorax and knew he still had a lot of explaining to do.

"Rose!" He turned away from the mirror and walked through the council flat Jackie Tyler had lived in most of Rose's life. "Rose?"

"She's gone to the shop with her Mum." Mickey handed him a cup of tea.

"Right." The Doctor nodded.

"So." Mickey looked him up and down. "You done this before?"

"What?"

"This." Mickey pointed at the brown suit and trainers.

"It's called Regeneration." The Doctor sighed. "And yes, I've done it before. A few times. Look, it's easy to explain. When you are born you age, eventually you die. Me? The Time Lords it's not like that. We're born, we age and in order to survive we Regenerate. "

"How old are you?"

"997 in Earth years." The Doctor watched as Mickey's eyes grew wide.

"You're ancient."

"Yeah." The Doctor nodded. "I am."

"What about Rose? Was she there when?"

"Yes." The Doctor sighed. "I never exactly get to plan when this happens. One minute I'm running along and the next it's all fireworks and I wake up in a new body."

"Weird."

"No it isn't."

"It is, it's like you're you but you're not you."

"Eloquent as ever, Ricky."

"See? He, you always got my name wrong."

"No I didn't." The Doctor stared at him. "Shut up, Mickey."

"Drink your tea. Free radicals and all that, it's good for you." Mickey glanced at the hand holding the mug, aware that less than a day earlier the same hand had grown in front of their eyes. The Doctor glanced at his hand and sighed.

"I should try to find the original. I don't need that falling into the wrong hands. Pardon the pun."

"Did you mean what you said?" Mickey asked. If the Doctor was thrown by the change in subject he didn't show it.

"Yeah. What?"

"That she is protected." Mickey held his gaze. "You told the Sycorax go back to the stars and tell them the Earth is protected."

"Yeah. I meant it." The Doctor smiled. "She is."

"And Rose?"

###############################

"Mum do we really need all these tea bags?" Rose asked as Jackie threw another back of Tetley tea bags into the shopping trolley.

"Well, you heard him, Sweetheart." Jackie smiled. "All he needed yesterday was a nice cup of tea."

"Yeah but not enough to sink the TARDIS." Rose smiled. Jackie rolled her eyes as they headed towards the supermarket checkout. "Mum?"

"Yes Sweetheart?" Jackie smiled at the man in the leather jacket at the till. Rose took her turn to roll her eyes.

"Do you think? Now that he's different, now that he's changed he's still going to want me?"

"Oh Rose." Jackie turned to face her. "I never liked him, you know that. Taking you away from me like he did."

"Mum." Rose bit her bottom lip.

"But he's different now." Jackie stated. "Still a cocky little sod but he's different. And the way you looked after him. I'm proud of you, Rose."

"Mum."

"So if he doesn't want you to go off and have more adventures with him then I'll see to it that he Rewhatiscalled again."

"Regeneration, Mum."

"Yeah. That." Jackie started loading the food onto the conveyor belt. "Of course he wants you to go with him. You only have to see the way he looks at you." Rose blushed as Jackie paid the girl working on the till. "But you aren't going anywhere until you've had a proper Christmas dinner. Not like yesterday when it all ended up cold." Rose smiled and picked the carrier bags up following her mother out of the supermarket.

##################################

"Doctor?"

"Give it a rest Mickey."

"I just want to ask you something." Mickey watched as the Doctor stared out of the flat window towards the TARDIS.

"Oh go on then." He smiled to himself, still getting used to how different his voice sounded. It seemed it had acquired a south London accent with a hint of Scottish. Running a hand through his scruffy brown hair he couldn't help but wonder why brown had been chosen again.

"Why did you say you were rude and not ginger?"

"I've never been ginger. I've had black hair, blonde hair, curly, grey hair. I was nearly 956 before I had to regenerate the first time. That's quite a while for a Time Lord. I've been rude, loads of times but I was sort of hoping for ginger and sexy this time. Doesn't matter though."

"Doctor."

"Don't say a word." The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Honestly Mickey, you ask the strangest questions." The flat door opened with a kick as Rose and Jackie rushed in with the shopping. Jackie huffed.

"Mickey! You could give us a hand here. He's recovering, you're just being a lazy sod." Rose laughed as her mother spoke. The Doctor got to his feet.

"I can fight the Sycorax, I can put the beans in cupboard."

"See? He's being helpful, you can tell he's changed."

"Brown hair and helpful. Wonder how that happened?" Rose laughed. The Doctor followed her into the kitchen as Jackie continued to berate the hapless Mickey. He watched as Mickey and Jackie began putting the shopping away, the extra tea bags causing another discussion about how the older Tyler woman had been right to suggest tea when the Doctor was recovering. He shook his head and smiled as Rose caught his eye. It seemed that this time he could do domestic, if it was with her.

#####################################

A/N please review.


End file.
